Seeking to void a boat purchase agreement

I visited a boat dealer in late Feb and agreed to buy a new boat. Returned March 4th to sign all paperwork and financing documents. Once done, we went outside. Trailer and boat were attached to a company truck, in which we went to do a sea trial on the boat. After the sea trial, we were loading the boat onto the trailer, and a roller snapped and created a 1" deep by 12" long gouge on each side of the hull. The salesman was very apologetic and promised to have the damage re-fiberglassed and delivered to my home (5 hours away) by the following Monday or Tuesday (3/12, 3/13).

Being the patient guy that I am, I waited until Wednesday 3/21 to call the dealership, at which time I was informed that the salesman no longer worked at the dealership and they didn't know my boat was to be fixed. The lady promised to have it fixed the next day.

Well, it's now 3/28, and it still hasn't been fixed. During this time, the damage to my boat has been exposed to the elements and my motor surely hasn't been flushed since the quick run in the salt water during the sea trial (not good for the motor).

I've had enough of the dealer runaround and have requested they terminate the purchase agreement. I have already made an insurance payment and boat payment on a boat I don't even have.

I tried to cancel through the finance company, but was told they had already paid the dealership and that I only had 3 days to cancel after signing the contract? (Not sure if this is true or the runaround, it certainly wasn't in the contract). They said I had to go after the dealership.

I am threatening legal action, but am not really sure if I stand on solid legal ground. I certainly feel like I have been wronged. Does the fact that the boat was still connected to a company truck during sea trial mean I never took physical possession of the goods? And isn't there some sort of expection on the seller to follow through with their promises in a timely manner? Also, everything in the contract is checked "New". I don't think the boat in repaired condition qualifies as new anymore.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

FYI - the deal was done in MD.

[msg]

It this point you really can cancel--they have not acted reasonably--or based on what you say here, you could file suit against them (or at least threaten to do so) in small claims court or in regular court; filing in small claims court is easier and requires no attorney...you could try to collect all of the costs and damages that you suffered due to their behavior... You may also report them to your state attorney general's office.

Thanks for the reply MSG.

They will definitely soon have a BBB and AG complaint on file, regardless of the outcome.

The boat is valued at over 10K, so I think I am not eligible for small claims. I have a consultation with an attorney in MD today to see if I have standing. If not...I'll pursue the BBB or AG mediation process and hopefully recoup some of the money I've paid and force them into fixing the boat as promised. Ideally, I would like to have legal standing to force them into cancelling the contract because they have failed miserably at keeping their promises.

it is the value of the claim you would make not the boat value that will determine if you can use small claims

so you could still use it for damages